(by Steve Hopkins)
The 2026 European Championships are underway today at Arena Stožice in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Over the next week, nearly 300 players from 45 countries will compete to be the European Champion in five events: Men’s and Women’s Singles, Men’s and Women’s Doubles, and Mixed Doubles. The Championships open with qualification rounds, and Europe’s top seeds will join the Main Draw later in the week. Finals are set for next Sunday.
The Men’s Singles field is led by France’s Felix Lebrun , Europe’s highest-ranked player at World No. 2. Felix just reached the Quarters of the China Smash – falling victim to Hugo Calderano in that very tough draw. Felix also has unfinished business at the European Championships: two years ago in Linz he was the top seed but fell 3-4 to Germany’s Benedikt Duda. Older brother, Alexis (World No. 8) is the defending champion after a dominant run two years ago which included sweeping Truls Moregard 4-0 in the Semifinals and topping Duda 4-0 in the Final. Sweden’s Moregard (World No. 5) reached the Quarters in Beijing this week as well – he will be pushing hard for a title run as well. A “Moregard – Lebrun” Final would not surprise anyone, but Germany’s Dang Qiu (World No. 10), Denmark’s Anders Lind (No. 14), and others have other ideas.
This year, Darko Jorgic (World No. 12) has the advantage of the home crowd. He reached the Men’s Singles final at this event in 2022 – and he will be hoping to take one more run at the title in Slovenia on home soil. Twelve Slovenian players are entered, but all eyes will be on Jorgic. In Doubles, the Lebrun brothers are the defending Men’s Doubles champions and currently sit No. 1 in the World Doubles Rankings.
The Women’s Singles title looks wide open. Austria’s Sofia Polcanova has won the last two European titles (Munich 2022 and Linz 2024) and is chasing a rare third straight. Germany’s Sabine Winter (World No. 8) comes in as Europe’s top-ranked woman and a serious threat for gold. Romania’s Bernadette Szocs, the runner-up in Linz, Germany’s Ying Han (No. 15), and Spain’s Maria Xiao will all have their eyes on a title as well.
Qualifications are underway and the Main Draw starts on Tuesday. Ljubljana should deliver a week of great table tennis.
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